When Angels Fall (13 page)

“Who was she?” Gabriel asked.

“She was a young widow
,
and mother of two children, named Tzahala. She lived just outside the city of
Bethlehem
. I first saw her when I’d gone out one ev
ening for a walk,” Michael said.
“She was sweeping the yard in front of her mud brick hut and something about her just caught my attention. I don’t know if it was the way she moved, or the way her hair hung down her back.

“All I know is I found myself there
again
the next night, hoping to see her again. I did this for several nights before I spoke to her; and it was
her
that initiated our first conversation.

“
She’d apparently noticed me on the nights I’d walked passed her home. It was extremely hot that evening, and Tza
hala called out to me to ask
if I like a sip of water,” Michael said.

“You could have just said
no and kept walking.
”

“I could have, and truth be told, I probably
should
have, but she intrigued me and I wanted to find out why. I thought if I actually spent a little time with her that I’d realize
that she was just another human
and not worthy
of my attention,” Michael said.
“But it didn’t work out that way. Instead, I found my feeling’s for her getting stronger.”

“Did you…you know?” Gabriel said, finding it difficult to ask Michael such an intimate question.

“Ha
ve sex with her?” Michael asked.
“Yes, I did.”

“What was it like?” Gabriel asked.

“It was nice,” Michael said, then paused and corrected himself, “No, it was much
more
than nice. Unless you experience it for yourself, it’s hard to understand why humans perform such a bizarre and messy act when they’re not trying to procreate.

“The act itself is extreme
ly, physically pleasurable. But
if you’re in love with the person you’re with, then sex creates an intimate bond between the two of you. O
r
at least that’s how it made me feel when I made love to Tzahala. But just having sex with her wasn’t enough. I wanted us to be more,” Michael said.

“So what happened?” Gabriel asked.

“I was caught by our Father, and was summoned back to Heav
en.
”

“How bad was His punishment?” Gabriel asked.

“He didn’t punish me; He
gave me a choice,” Michael said.
“I could choose to stay with Tzahala, or I could return home to Heaven…but I couldn’t do both.

“If I chose to stay with Tzahala, I would have to spend a human lifetime here on Earth, without
being able to
return to Heaven for the
time I would’ve spent here. And
when I
did
return to Heaven, I would lose my place next to His Throne. I would still be an
Archangel
, of course, but I would lose my place in his court.
Or
I could walk away from Tzahala altogether and keep my place beside the Throne.”

“And…you chose to leave her?” Gabriel asked.
“
Did you not love her?”

“I
loved
her, but in the end, I loved my place in Heaven more,” Michael said.

“Do you regret your decision?”

It seemed strange to be having this kind of conversation with Michael after not seeing him for over two thousand years. But, Michael had always been Gabriel’s favorite brother, and they’d fallen easily back into their comfortable relationship.

“Sometimes,” Michael said reflectively.
“
I often wonder what our life together would have been like if I’d stayed, but the choice I made was
the choice that was best for me.
”

Gabriel took a few minutes to mull over everything that Michael had told him, and Michael was kind enough not to interrupt his thoughts.

“Unlike me, you had the
choice
to walk away,
” Gabriel finally said. “I don’t have that luxury.”

“You
could
walk away. It would be the end of humans’ rei
g
n on Earth, but you
could
leave if you really wanted to,” Michael said.

“If I don’t take care of Lucifer, I’ll never be able to return to Heaven,” Gabriel said.

“There’s no guarantee that killing Lucifer
will
ge
t you back into Heaven,” Michael said.
“
Just because God gave you this mission doesn’t mean he’s going to allow you to
come home if you’re successful.
”

“Maybe not, but it’s the only chance I have,” Gabriel said.

“You’ve been forced by our Father to hold post outside the proverbial Gates of Heaven for over four million years; never
permitted to step inside the Kingdom
itself
. You’ve been separated from your brothers, except for the rare occurrence when we run into each other on Earth. You’ve been forced to watch over the affairs of humans, and
even
to protect a select few.

“Low ranking angels deliver God’s orders to you, and then you’re sent to Earth to
carry out
those commands. Even if you’re successful in your mission to kill Lucifer, you’ll probably have to return to
your banishment outside of the Gates
,” Michael said. “After all our Father is putting you through, why would you even
want
to return to Heaven?”

“It’s my home,” Gabriel said simply.

“Maybe, but home hasn’t been good to you for a very long time,” Michael said.

“It’s a punishment that I earned
,
and it’s
well
deserved,” Gabriel said.
“
I should have been cast into the pit with Lucifer for defying God’s command, and
you
know it. Any punishment less than that was a blessi
ng.
”

“True, but you always were one of Father’s favorite sons,” Michael said with a smile.

“As are you,” Gabriel replied.

They sat at the table for the rest of the night, just talking. Michael had been right, he did need the company, and he had given Gabriel a lot to think about.

4.

Gabriel and a man she didn’t know were at the table the next morning when Dani walked i
nto the kitchen
.

“Donna’s still passed out
on the
couch,” Dani said, before she noticed the man sitting across from Gabriel.

The strange
r stood up to introduce himself,
“Hello, I’m…,” he was saying, but Dani finished the sentence for him.

“An angel,” Dani said, frowning.

The man smiled at her, “
You’re
only
assuming I’m an
angel because I’m with Gabriel.
”

“No, I’m assuming you’re an angel because you’re with Gabriel
and
you
’
r
e
sitting in my kitc
hen butt booty naked,” she said.
“Thanks for getting your Holy ass sweat all over the seat of my chair, by the way.”

The angel gave a booming laugh, “I promise I didn’t fart on it.
”

“And don’t think I don’t appreciate that,” she said, and walked over to the counter to get a cup of coffee.

Her mom had gotten her the coffee pot for Dani’s twenty-fifth birthday, and Dani loved it. It was a Bunn with an automatic timer on it, so the coffee would be ready when Dani got up in the mornings.

She desperately needed the coffee this morning. Gabriel may have pulled the alcohol from her system the night before, but the hangover obviously hadn’t gotten the memo, because her head was pounding.

Dani poured her coffee and then went and sat down at the table.

“To what do I owe the
honor of the presence of yet another naked angel?
” Dani asked.
“
Are you here to help Gabriel defeat Lucifer
?
”

“I would if I could, but no angel is allowed to assist him. This is Gabriel’s mission and he has
to succeed…or fail, on his own
,
”
Michael said, and held out his hand to
her.
“I’m Michael, by the way;
G
abriel’s brother.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dani said and shook Michael’s hand.

Michael was just as tall and handsome as Gabriel, only his hair was blonde
instead of black
,
and his skin wasn’t quite a dark.

“That doesn’t seem very f
air,” Dani said.
“If you’re
willing
to help Gabriel, why are you not allowed to?”

“Because it’s God’s will,” Michael said.

“Well, it’s bullshit,” Dani said.
“
If He really wants Lucifer dead, it makes sense that He would allo
w Gabriel all the help he needs.
”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Gabriel said dryly.

“Y
ou know what I mean,” Dani said.
“For t
hat matter, if God
really
wanted Lucifer dead He could strike him down Himself. He wouldn’t even have to leave Heaven to do it. He could strike him down from His Throne.”

“I told you, God won’t strike down one of His sons,” Gabriel said.

“Yet He seems to have absolutely
no
problem having
you
kill
your
own brother,” Dani said.

“It’s not like that, Danielle…” Michael said.

“It’s
exactly
like that,” Dani said. “Has it even occurred to God that
Gabriel
may die; or does it even matter to H
im?
”

“Of course it matters to Him,” Michael said.

“Really, because it doesn’t seem that way from where I’m sitting
,” Dani said.
“From w
here I’m sitting God seems like
a petulant child, sitting on His Throne issuing orders and
damn
the
c
onsequences, d
amn humanity
,
and damn Gabriel. Has it slipped His mind that Gabriel is His son too? And that maybe, just maybe, he could use a little help?”

“That’s blasphemous,” Michael said.

“Yeah, well smite me then,” Da
n
i
said,
and then
stood up and marched from the room.

5.

“Is she always that judgmental?” Michael asked.

“She not judgmental, she just speaks her mind…whether you want her to or not. And you have to keep in mind that, until a couple of days ago, she didn’t even believe in God,” Gabriel said.

“You’re kidding me!
” Michael said in astonishment.
“
The last person on Earth to carry the blood of God didn’t even
believe
in Him
?
”

“No, I’m not kidding. Dani’s mother was devout
, but Dani never bought into it,” Gabriel said.
“
If I’d watched over her during her life, I would have known that. As it is, I was just as surprised as
you are.
”

“You didn’t watch over her? Why not, seeing as it was your
job
to do so?” Michael asked.

“There was no need. As long as two people carried God’s Blood, there was no reason to watch over her. No demon, not even Lucifer
himself
, could get to her. She was safe as long as her mother was still alive,” Gabriel said, “And I had other people to watch over.”

“Well
I
wat
ched over her from time to time,” Michael said.
“
I know she went to Sunday school, so I didn’t know she wasn’t religious, but I kn
ow a few other things about her.
”

“Why were
you
watching over her at all?
” Gabriel snapped.
“It wasn’t your place.
”

He didn’t like that Michael knew more about Dani than he did.

“I was curious; I looked in on
every
woman that carried His blood,” Michael said.